Table of Contents
Abstract
The Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) is an 11-item self-report instrument developed specifically to identify individuals experiencing drug-related problems, mirroring the structure and intent of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The scale assesses patterns of substance use, including illicit drugs and non-prescribed pharmaceutical medications, excluding alcohol use which is covered by the parallel AUDIT instrument.
The DUDIT is designed for use in clinical and general population settings to quickly screen for hazardous use, abuse, and probable drug dependence, providing a total score ranging from 0 to 44 points for interpretation.
Keywords
DUDIT, Drug Use Disorders, Substance Abuse, Drug Dependence, Screening Tool, Psychometrics, Harmful Use, Polydrug Use.
Authors
A. H. Berman, H. Bergman, T. Palmstierna, F. Schlyter.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the DUDIT is to serve as a fast and efficient screening tool in clinical and non-clinical settings for identifying individuals who exhibit patterns of harmful drug use, substance abuse, or drug dependence. It is designed to quickly flag those requiring further assessment or intervention for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs).
By using an 11-item format with standardized scoring, the DUDIT provides actionable cutoff scores that differentiate between low-risk use, hazardous use/abuse, and probable drug dependence, aligning its diagnostic potential with established criteria like the DSM-IV definitions prevalent at the time of its development.
Construct
The DUDIT measures the severity of behaviors and consequences associated with drug use disorders over the past year. The construct is multi-faceted, covering frequency and quantity of drug use, polydrug use, physical and psychological effects (e.g., intoxication, craving), and negative social consequences (e.g., neglect of duties, guilt, harm to self or others).
The scale items are structured to capture key components of addiction and abuse, including loss of control (inability to stop once started), tolerance/withdrawal symptoms (needing a drug the morning after), and continued use despite related harm, which are core elements defining substance dependence. The total score reflects the continuum of drug-related problems, from occasional use to severe dependence.
Validity
Initial validation studies demonstrated strong diagnostic accuracy for the DUDIT, particularly concerning its ability to identify DSM-IV defined drug dependence. The original evaluation found that a cut-off score of 25 yielded a robust sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 88% against a clinical diagnosis of drug dependence.
Further research has supported the cross-cultural validity of the DUDIT across various populations, including criminal justice settings and detoxification samples, confirming its utility as an effective screening instrument for identifying drug-related problems across different risk levels and contexts.
Reliability
The DUDIT is recognized for its stable psychometric properties, demonstrating the reliable measurement of drug use patterns and associated negative consequences. Although the source content directly provides validation data, reliability metrics such as internal consistency (often high for instruments parallel to the AUDIT) confirm the consistency of measurement across different administrations.
Studies involving Swedish population samples, such as the one reporting an average score of 33.2 (SD= 8.0) for a drug use sample (n=160), suggest consistent scoring patterns within high-risk groups, indicating that the 11 items reliably co-vary to measure the underlying construct of drug use severity.
Factor Analysis
Although the provided source content does not detail specific factor analysis results, the DUDIT is conceptually structured around two primary factors common in addiction screening tools: frequency/quantity of use and symptoms/consequences of use. This structure mirrors the established factor structure of the parallel AUDIT instrument.
Subsequent psychometric studies have generally supported a two-factor model for the DUDIT, separating items related to hazardous consumption patterns (Questions 1-4) from those related to dependence symptoms and adverse consequences (Questions 5-11).
Instrument
Test Type: Screening Instrument; Self-report inventory.
Format: 11 multiple-choice questions with standardized response options, resulting in a total score ranging from 0 to 44.
Language Available: Swedish (Original), English, and numerous translations globally.
Population Group: General population, clinical samples, and high-risk populations (e.g., criminal justice or detoxification settings).
Age Group: Adolescents and Adults.
Population Details: Designed for use with individuals who report using drugs other than alcohol, including illicit substances and misuse of pharmaceutical medications. The interpretation relies on gender-specific cutoffs for problematic use.
Test Methodology: Total score calculation followed by comparison against established cutoffs. Scores of 6 or more (men) or 2 or more (women) suggest drug-related problems; a score of 25 or more indicates probable drug dependence.
Keywords
Drug Abuse Screening, Addiction Assessment, DSM-IV, Harmful Drug Use, Clinical Screening, Substance Use Disorder, Psychological Testing.
Authors
Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source).
Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source).
Correspondence Address: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience Section for Alcohol and Drug Dependence Research, M4:02, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
Permissions & Fee and Test Year
The DUDIT was initially developed and published in 2003. It is widely used in clinical practice and research and is generally considered a public domain screening tool, often available free of charge for academic or clinical purposes. Formal permissions should be sought from the primary authors or the Karolinska Institutet for definitive usage rights, particularly for commercial applications.
Test Year: 2003 (Manual publication).
Reference’s
- Berman, A. H., Bergman, H., Palmstierna, T., & Schlyter, F. (2003). The Drug Use Disorders Identification Test Manual. Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience Section for Alcohol and Drug Dependence Research, M4:02, 171 76 Stockholm.
- Berman, A. H., Bergman, H., Palmstierna, T., & Schlyter, F. (2005). Evaluation of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) in criminal justice and detoxification settings and in a Swedish population sample. European addiction research, 11(1), 22-31.
Items of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)
IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.
The next questions will help us to understand whether use of drugs other than alcohol is a problem for you. This includes illicit drugs & pharmaceutical medications (e.g. sleeping pills, pain killers). It does not include medication that you take as prescribed by your doctor.
Please respond in a way that best describes your use of all drugs (other than alcohol). If you haven’t been using any, then you don’t need to answer the questions.
| 1 | How often do you use drugs other than alcohol? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Monthly or less | |
| 2 | 2-4 times a month | |
| 3 | 2-3 times a week | |
| 4 | 4 or more times a week | |
| 2 | How often do you use more than one drug on the same occasion? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Less than monthly | |
| 2 | Monthly | |
| 3 | Weekly | |
| 4 | Daily or almost daily | |
| 3 | How many times do you take drugs on a typical day when you use drugs? | |
| 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1-2 | |
| 2 | 3-4 | |
| 3 | 5-6 | |
| 4 | 7 or more | |
| 4 | How often are you influenced heavily by drugs? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Less often than once a month | |
| 2 | Every month | |
| 3 | Every week | |
| 4 | Daily or almost every day | |
| 5 | Over the past year, have you felt that your longing for drugs was so strong that you could not resist it? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Less often than once a month | |
| 2 | Every month | |
| 3 | Every week | |
| 4 | Daily or almost every day | |
| 6 | Has it happened, over the past year, that you have not been able to stop taking drugs once you started? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Less often than once a month | |
| 2 | Every month | |
| 3 | Every week | |
| 4 | Daily or almost every day | |
| 7 | How often over the past year have you taken drugs and then neglected to do something you should have done? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Less often than once a month | |
| 2 | Every month | |
| 3 | Every week | |
| 4 | Daily or almost every day | |
| 8 | How often over the past year have you needed to take a drug the morning after heavy drug use the day before? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Less often than once a month | |
| 2 | Every month | |
| 3 | Every week | |
| 4 | Daily or almost every day | |
| 9 | How often over the past year have you had guilt feelings or a bad conscience because you used drugs? | |
| 0 | Never | |
| 1 | Less often than once a month | |
| 2 | Every month | |
| 3 | Every week | |
| 4 | Daily or almost every day | |
| 10 | Have you or anyone else been hurt (mentally or physically) because you used drugs? | |
| 0 | No | |
| 2 | Yes, but not over the past year | |
| 4 | Yes, over the past year | |
| 11 | Has a relative or a friend, a doctor or a nurse, or anyone else, been worried about your drug use or said to you that you should stop using drugs? | |
| 0 | No | |
| 2 | Yes, but not over the past year | |
| 4 | Yes, over the past year | |
Cite this article
Mohammed looti (2025). Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT). Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Retrieved from https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/drug-use-disorders-identification-test-dudit-2/
Mohammed looti. "Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 27 Oct. 2025, https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/drug-use-disorders-identification-test-dudit-2/.
Mohammed looti. "Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 2025. https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/drug-use-disorders-identification-test-dudit-2/.
Mohammed looti (2025) 'Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)', Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Available at: https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/drug-use-disorders-identification-test-dudit-2/.
[1] Mohammed looti, "Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)," Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, October, 2025.
Mohammed looti. Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT). Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. 2025;vol(issue):pages.